Ravenswood shooting: 'He brought that guy -- that guy who shot him -- into our own house'

The mother of a man shot in a Ravenswood alley Sunday stood in the same alley Friday night, shaking in the cold, a cardboard sign with the words "Stop the Violence" pressed to her chest.

Between sobs, she described her son Dushanti Hassell, a father of two, as loving and charming.

But also gullible.

"He had so many friends, and that was his downfall," said Juanita Gartley, following a vigil in her son's honor. "He was too nice. He was friends with everyone. He brought that guy — that guy who shot him — into our own house, and introduced him as 'a friend.'"

Police said Hassell, 21, was shot once in the head at a close range about 6:35 p.m. Sunday in the 2200 block of West Winnemac Avenue. Officers responded to a call of a person shot and found Hassell in an alley on the block.

Hassell, of the 5700 block of North Kenmore Avenue in Edgewater, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Amin Smith, 21, was charged with first-degree murder in Hassell's killing, and ordered held without bail Friday after prosecutors told Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois, Jr. that Hassell begged for his life. In a Friday hearing, Bourgeois told Smith, "You are dangerous, sir."

A vigil was held in Ravenswood for a 21 year old man who begged for his life after being gun down, and later killed. (WGN)

A vigil was held in Ravenswood for a 21 year old man who begged for his life after being gun down, and later killed. (WGN)

Assistant State's Attorney Enrique Abraham said Smith was at a friend's apartment Sunday evening when he got picked up by his mother and driven to a Dunkin' Donuts at 6249 N. Western Ave. to meet Hassell. Smith's friend followed Smith to the Dunkin' Donuts in a red Jeep, prosecutors said.

After Smith and Hassell met in the Dunkin' Donuts parking lot, the friend agreed to drive the two to another location, and Smith and Hassell got into the back seat of the Jeep, prosecutors said. Smith told his friend where to drive, and they went to the alley between Winnemac and Argyle Avenue just west of Leavitt Street, arriving just before 6:35 p.m., prosecutors said.

Hassell and Smith got out of the Jeep and walked to a "T" intersection in the alley, then went around the corner of a garage, prosecutors said. The friend got out of the Jeep to urinate and, while urinating about 10 to 15 feet from them, heard them start to fight, then saw them struggling over a gun.

Hassell ended up on the ground and Smith got control of the gun, prosecutors said.

Hassell begged "please, please" as Smith pointed the gun at Hassell's head, and the friend started to run to the Jeep, then heard one gunshot, prosecutors said. Smith then ran to the Jeep, got in and wiped himself and the gun with a towel as he frantically looked for his phone.

Smith took his friend's phone and called his mother, asking her to pick him up at Lawrence and Ashland avenues, and the friend drove him there, prosecutors said.

Police called to the scene of the shooting found both Hassell and Smith's cell phones, and got a description and license plate for the Jeep from witnesses. Investigators also found one .40-caliber bullet casing.

An autopsy determined Hassell was shot in the upper left side of the head, above the ear, with the bullet traveling to the right temple, consistent with his being shot by someone standing over him, prosecutors said.

Police interviewed the friend and as well as the friend's girlfriend, who was also in the Jeep at the time of the shooting. Smith, of the 7800 block of South Greenwood Avenue, turned himself in to the police on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Smith is on probation in an unlawful use of a weapon case, in which he was arrested about 8:55 p.m. on May 2, 2012, in the 1600 block of West Howard Street, according to prosecutors and police records.

More than 100 people attended a vigil for Hassell Friday night, held in the same alley where he was shot, holding battery-operated candles and tall candlesticks. Several attendees dug through the pockets of their puffy winter coats for crumbled tissues, which they passed to one another to wipe away tears.

At the end of the vigil, nearly all the attendees took turns embracing Gartley, offering their condolences.

Brandon Hassell, Hassel's uncle, said his nephew was dedicated to his two children, ages 3 and 10 months, and would take them out bowling or to the movies. He said Hassell wasn't involved with gang or drug activity, but rather a hard-working man who graduated high school.

He said Hassell had started a job with an electric company in the weeks before he was killed, which he thoroughly enjoyed, as he would always post selfies from the office's bathroom and break room. Brandon said Hassell was passionate about hip-hop dancing, and regularly posted hip-hop videos to YouTube.

What Brandon said he'll remember most about his nephew was his optimism.

"He just had this personality that made you smile," he said. "He smiled about everything all the time, and it made you happy, too. This — all of this that's happened — is just too sad."